BT Telecommunications Series

Transcription

1 TELEPRESENCE

2 BT Telecommunications Series The BT Telecommunications Series covers the broad spectrum of telecommunications technology. Volumes are the result of research and development carried out, or funded by, BT, and represent the latest advances in the field. The series includes volumes on underlying technologies as well as telecommunications. These books will be essential reading for those in research and development in telecommunications, in electronics and in computer science. 1. Neural Networks for Vision, Speech and Natural Language Edited by R Linggard, D J Myers and C Nightingale 2. Audiovisual Telecommunications Edited by N D Kenyon and C Nightingale 3. Digital Signal Processing in Telecommunications Edited by F A Westall and S F A Ip 4. Telecommunications Local Networks Edited by W K Ritchie and J R Stem 5. Optical Network Technology Edited by D W Smith 6. Object Oriented Techniques in Telecommunications Edited by E L Cusack and F S Cordingley 7. Modelling Future Telecommunications Systems Edited by P Cochrane and D J T Heatley 8. Computer Aided Decision Supportin Telecommunications Edited by P G Flavin and K A F Toffon 9. Multimedia Telecommunications Edited by W S Whyte 10. Network Intelligence Edited by I G Dufour 11. Speech Technology for Telecommunications Edited by F A Westall, R D Johnston and A V Lewis 12. Mobile Systems Edited by I Groves 13. ATM for Service Providers Edited by J Adams 14. Computing Systems for Global Telecommunications Edited by S West, M Norris and S Stockman 15. The Internet and Beyond Edited by S Sim and J Davies

3 TELEPRESENCE Edited by P. J. Sheppard and G. R. Walker B. T. Laboratories, u.k. SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, BV

4 A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Printed on acid-free paper AII Rights Reserved 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1999 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1999 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner.

5 Contents Contributors Preface, Graham Walker and Phil Sheppard vii ix 1 Telepresence - the future of telephony G R Walker and P J Sheppard 2 The evolution of conferencing 14 I Parke 3 Unattended audio conferencing 27 D L Gibson, D Pauley and L Willis 4 Spatial audio technology for telepresence 40 M P Hollier, A N Rimell and D Burraston 5 Desktop conversations - the future of multimedia 57 conferencing MRuss 6 Conferencing on the Internet 74 P Cordell, M Courtenay and S Rudkin 7 Whither video? - pictorial culture and telepresence 99 A V Lewis and G Cosier 8 Video coding - techniques, standards and applications 142 M W Whybray, D G Morrison and P J Mulroy 9 Evaluating the network and usability characteristics of 170 virtual reality conferencing C M Greenhalgh, A Bullock, J Tromp and S D Benford 10 Virtual conferencing 208 A N Mortlock, D Machin, S McConnell and P J Sheppard

6 VI CONTENTS 11 Interactive collaborative media environments 227 D M Traill, J M Bowskill and P J Lawrence 12 Real peple in surreal environments 244 C K Sidhu and P A Bowman 13 Affective intelligence - the missing link 263 R W Picard and G Cosier 14 Towards a multi-modal perceptual model 286 M P Hollier and R Voelcker 15 Distributed entertainment environment 306 S J Powers, M R Hinds and J Morphett 16 The application oftelepresence in medicine 323 P Gamer, M Collins, S M Webster and DAD Rose 17 Applying telepresence to education 334 C J H Fowler and J T Mayes 18 Concept BT's new generation dealing desk 350 D J T Heatley, I B Cockburn, F T Lyne, A K Williamson, K J Fisher, I Neild and N Haque Appendix, List of Acronyms 367 Index 371

7 Contributors S D Benford P A Bowman J M Bowskill A Bullock DBurraston I B Cockburn M Collins P Cordell G Cosier J M Courtenay K J Fisher C J H Fowler P Garner D L Gibson C M Greenhalgh N Haque D J T Heatley M R Hinds M P Hollier P J Lawrence A V Lewis F T Lyne Reader in Computer Science, Nottingham University Media Environments, BT Laboratories Wearable Computing and Communications, BT Laboratories Department of Computer Science, Nottingham University Multi-modal Perception, BT Laboratories Wholesale Finance, Syntegra Telematics Applications, BT Laboratories Multimedia Applications, BT Laboratories Applied Research and Technology, BT Laboratories Value Added Service Development, BT Laboratories On-line Futures, BT Laboratories Education and Training Research, BT Laboratories Telematics Applications, BT Laboratories Speech Platform Technology, BT Laboratories Department of Computer Science, Nottingham University Systems Integration Sales, Syntegra Mobile Systems, BT Laboratories Shared Spaces, BT Laboratories Multi-modal Perception, BT Laboratories Media Environments, BT Laboratories Speech Coding and Adaptive Audio Systems, BT Laboratories Mobile Systems, BT Laboratories

8 viii CONTRIBUTORS D Machin J T Mayes S McConnell J Morphett D G Morrison AN Mortlock P J Mulroy I Neild I Parke D Pauley R W Picard S J Powers AN Rimell DAD Rose S Rudkin M Russ P J Sheppard C K Sidhu D M Traill J Tromp R M Voelcker G R Walker S M Webster M WWhybray A K Williamson L Willis Natural Communication Systems, BT Laboratories Centre for Learning and Teaching Innovation, Glasgow Caledonian University Natural Communication Systems, BT Laboratories Shared Spaces, BT Laboratories Video Coding and Standards, BT Laboratories Natural Communication Systems, BT Laboratories Distributed Information Systems, BT Laboratories Mobile Systems, BT Laboratories Broadcast and Conferencing Services, BT Laboratories Applied Research and Technology, BT Laboratories Associate Professor of Media Technology, MIT Shared Spaces, BT Laboratories Multi-modal Perception, BT Laboratories Telematics Applications, BT Laboratories Distributed Systems, BT Laboratories Audiographic Conferencing, BT Laboratories Natural Communication Systems, BT Laboratories Human Factors, BT Laboratories Media Environments, BT Laboratories Department of Computer Science, Nottingham University Multi-modal Perception, BT Laboratories Telepresence Campaign Manager, BT Laboratories Telematics Applications, BT Laboratories Video and Audio Coding, BT Laboratories Systems Integration, BT Business Sales Applied Research and Technology, BT Laboratories

9 Preface More than a century ago, when Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant made the first telephone connection, there was much debate and speculation about whether anyone would fmd a practical use for such a contraption. Who could have envisaged that Bell was laying the groundwork for something as dynamic and complex as the telecommunications infrastructure that exists today? Yet no matter how sophisticated our telecommunications system becomes, the greatest use is still the ordinary phone call. Telephony is the ultimate example of how successful technology adapts to the very human need to communicate; and, whether it is a call home while travelling on business or an interactive journey through the Internet, bringing people together remains the foundation of the global telecommunications industry. Telephony is a basic form oftelepresence - enabling human interaction at a distance, creating a sense of being present at a remote location. As we move from a physical to an information economy, demand will grow for services which transport bits not atoms and which support the output of the human mind. In the next millennium we are certain to be increasingly 'telepresent' both at work and at play, with an expanding market for telepresence services. Building on a strong base of established audiovisual conferencing and interactive multimedia services, BT Laboratories, together with its research partners, is leading the way in the multi-disciplinary exploration of the social opportunities and technical challenges of future telepresence services. The content of this book has been selected to provide a snapshot of these groundbreaking activities - conveying the complexity, uncertainty and enthusiasm involved in this challenging and exciting work. The opening chapter overviews the status and prospects for telepresence providing a context for the remainder of the book. Telepresence services will be built on a diversity of technologies, and a wide-ranging coverage is provided of the future of audio, data, video and virtual environments. These chapters highlight the remarkable functionality that will become available through continued advances in processing power and global network connectivity. We are ultimately concerned with telepresence as a service, not as isolated technologies. The starting point for all such communications services is a customer need, a particular desire for contact. The importance of the human experience in achieving that contact through telepresence, including issues of usability, quality of service and emotional interaction, should not be underestimated. We have therefore included a number of chapters that address the human factors of user experience and assessment of service quality.

10 x PREFACE In looking forward to prospective telepresence services we can anticipate a future of greatly increased diversity of media. There will be a much wider choice in matching an appropriate degree of presence with the initial desire for human contact. Making that match, with a cost-effective and easy-to-use solution, will be the key to commercial telepresence. With this in mind we have included not only some chapters which combine the various technologies to meet generic needs and also a few early examples of the application oftelepresence to specific markets, namely education, medicine and fmance. The telephone has set high standards for telepresence services that stress 'people as content'. The future promises a remarkable diversity of multimedia telepresence - we invite you to enjoy the various contributions presented here as pointers to just some of the exciting possibilities. Graham Walker and Phil Sheppard BT Laboratories